Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) prepares, trains, and places women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades, helping women achieve economic independence and a secure future for themselves and their families.

Founded in 1978, NEW is a sector-based workforce development program that prepares women for careers in the construction, transportation, energy, and facilities maintenance industries. NEW focuses on skilled, unionized jobs in the trades with starting wages averaging $17 per hour, benefits, and a path to higher-wage employment. NEW primarily serves low-income minority women from all five boroughs in New York City. These careers enable NEW graduates to provide a secure future for themselves and their families.

The number of women construction workers in New York City has grown substantially as a result of a coordinated effort between NEW, labor unions, contractors, and government. With a commitment by these partners to place women in 10 percent of all new apprenticeship slots, more than 1,300 NEW graduates have found work as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, painters, ironworkers, operating engineers, and sheetmetal workers since 2005. An additional 1,000 women have found careers in the energy, transportation, and facilities maintenance industries. These women are changing their lives and the skyline of New York City.